AN ENGLISH STORY
Donna Phillips Ryan,
Coordinator, Student Success, Fujairah Women`s College, HCT, UAE
Abstract
The challenges of teaching in English as a second or foreign language are
many and varied. This paper identifies some of those encountered by one
instructor during a semester`s teaching of the course Basic Learning and
Information Skills to CD 1 students in a women`s college in the Higher Colleges
of Technology. The brief consideration of these challenges is organised
through five Principles of Effective Teaching and Learning (Education Queensland:
1994).
Introduction
Students new to a post-secondary education institution may find themselves
in a bewildering environment which sometimes makes enormous demands in a
complex situation for which they may be underprepared. This is a universal
truism. Instructors also new to this same environment are learners along
with their students. Students are learning more of another language in that
language; recently arrived instructors are learning the language of the
system and relearning the language of instruction as determined by the second
language competencies of their students. At least, this was true for me.
So, this semester, my students and I embarked on a learning journey together.
This is part of our story.
Understanding
the Learner
This semester (August 2001 - January 2002), part of my brief as the Coordinator,
Student Success was to collaboratively plan and teach the introductory course
Basic Learning and Information Literacy Skills (BLIS) to incoming students
in the CD1 program. In part this entailed introducing the students to metacognitive
skills and applying them to their own learning. To do this I had to quickly
establish an appreciation not only of the English language competencies
of the students but also of the ways in which they had learned in school.
It was my intention to teach through the language I expected the students
to use. I applied the ratchet principle. I used 'big' words and words they
may not have previously encountered. I repeated them often in different
contexts, checked for understanding and offered alternate and simpler ways
of expressing the more difficult concepts.
The students began to reflect on their learning styles, their individual
challenges and strengths. They began to develop more of an understanding
of themselves as learners. They came to understand that perhaps there was
not one right answer, that they had a choice and that they could explain
those choices. I became more aware of student expectations of the teacher
which I wanted to change and of the importance of developing even more student
acceptance of responsibility for their own learning.
Understanding
the Learning Process
Through discussion and reflection on what they had done in class (BLIS and
other lessons) the students became more aware of how they were learning.
Other teachers in the CD1 program were using some of the strategies emphasised
in BLIS. This meant students were exposed to a continuity of learning activities
that encouraged them to take more responsibility for their own learning.
Opportunities for making choices were taken up as students became more confident
in asking questions, offering answers and exercising their preferences.
In BLIS I tried to give them the language to express their thoughts on their
learning - what was easy, what was difficult and why, and what had
they done about tackling that which was hard. I was not focusing on the
mechanics of the language.
I learned that many of these students needed encouragement to ask questions,
to offer answers, to take the risk. I learned that many of these students
needed positive reinforcement, to be reassured that their contributions
in class were valued. I was also reminded that while many of the quiet students
were learning, they were exercising their choice to remain silent.
Learning
Takes Place in Supportive and Challenging Environments
Sometime into the first term a National secondary teacher visited one of
my classes. At first she observed as we checked homework and completed a
little classwork. Then I invited her to address the students. This quickly
turned into a question and answer session in which the students shared with
us their impressions of their secondary schooling and suggested ways in
which the experience might be enriched. It ended with the students singing
us a song they had learned in English class. The visiting teacher congratulated
the students on their relevant observations and good suggestions. She congratulated
them even more on the way in which they so willingly contributed to the
discussion and their mastery of English to convey their messages. This learning
environment, she said, was what she was seeking to encourage in her own
classroom.
From this I learned that my students felt safe in my classroom to voice
their ideas and to take certain risks in their learning. The challenges
I was posing for them were not too hard for most and they were coping with
the greater expectations of them as learners and the demands made by the
new content.
Earlier in the term I had the students write a short note telling me what
I needed to change to help them learn more easily. They set me challenges:
to speak more slowly, to speak up, to use more pictures and games. Some
did not like my Australian accent! In part they were telling me what they
enjoyed in other subjects and that they expected learning to be fun. I accepted
this as proof I had generated a climate both supportive and challenging
in the classroom as these students did not have the safety of anonymity
in their feedback. Even though they had not put their names to the responses,
I did know where they sat and I recognised their handwriting!
Learning
Takes Place through Partnerships
From the beginning I emphasised that we were learners working together.
They were learning (I hoped) ways to become more successful students and
I was learning about them, their culture and country. I was learning to
be a more competent teacher of these particular students. I also created
opportunities to relate our lessons to work being done with other teachers
in other courses e.g. English and Care. After explicit teaching, much of
our work was done in small groups or pairs. Increasingly though, out of
classtime, students came to see me one-on-one. This may have been because
their project entailed an individual product and an individual interview.
In this way we hoped to reinforce the importance of individual effort and
the responsibility of each student for her own learning and the demonstration
of that learning. What we were also doing in class was giving each student
the language she would need to demonstrate her learning at interview. Some
students went far beyond this bringing to interview maps, photographs and
realia to illustrate their projects. Here they had an opportunity to use
a far greater range of language than that purposely introduced and practiced
in BLIS.
Learning
Occurs in Cultural and Social Contexts
A major challenge for me was to apply what I had read or had been told about
the young Arabic learner to my classroom practice. Another was to discover
very quickly the real competencies or lack thereof, of my students - in
English vocabulary as well as in high order thinking skills and learning.
At systemic meetings I was exposed to resources and teacher expectations
which did not seem to sit comfortably with what I was experiencing in my
classroom. I listened to my peers and sifted this information for the gems
relevant to my situation and that of my students. This was a real learning
curve and I made mistakes. My students were very forgiving! And very ready
to help me learn! This teaching of teacher usually happened in the `social'
context of conversations outside class. Two came separately to talk but
were quick to take up the invitation to chat about what was happening in
our classes. (I later realised these two women were friends - one in each
of my classes - and perhaps they were on a joint mission to help me 'fit'
their expectations of a teacher?). Another student elected herself as unofficial
spokeswoman on class feedback for a few weeks until she apparently felt
she had completed her task - or I no longer needed her guidance delivered
between the book stacks of the library!
In class we have talked about learning as fun and learning as serious business
too. I am not sure I have sold this idea yet. My students like to learn
through songs, games, the computer and other activities. I ask them if they
will learn through games and song when they are working. They say no but
perhaps the workplace is still too far away. And many will not enter paid
employment.
One of the challenges my students face is that many do not speak English
at home. They recognise communication in English as a college activity and
for some it is a classroom activity. This makes it even more difficult for
them to transfer their learning from one cultural or social context to another.
Not all recognise that they are acquiring knowledge and skills (information
literacy, critical thinking, creative thinking) that might cross the barriers
of language and context. That is another challenge to continue to address.
Indeed, I am not yet certain all can transfer their learning strategies
from one subject to another. That is a challenge teachers and students will
address in partnership over coming semesters!
Conclusion
In teaching in English, we are, of course, modelling the use of that language
to communicate. We are modelling its forms, functions and nuances to learners
of a second language that they may not have much opportunity to practise
in their real world outside the college gates. We ask a lot of our students;
they are learning more than English in our colleges. They are also learning
the language of computers, of mathematics, of business, for example. They
are learning 'language' in many forms across the curriculum and for many
purposes. In striving to achieve this they are remarkable, true teachers
of tenacity and optimism for those who want to learn. For my CD1 students
and me, a learning journey has just begun; hopefully we will travel together
and our story will be a happy one. They will continue to develop language
and other academic competencies: I will continue to learn from them and
about them.
Reference
Department of Education (1994). Principles of Effective Learning and Teaching,
Brisbane, Studies Directorate.
Donna.phillipsryan@hct.ac.ae
Donna Phillips Ryan, M.ED., M. App. Ling., B.A., B.ED., Grad. Dip. in Education,
Grad. Dip. In Teacher Librarianship, Grad., Cert in TESOL, M.A.C.E.